This month is our thirteenth anniversary living in Peru! Thirteen years of adventure, hard work and experiencing firsthand the goodness of God. Anniversaries supply appropriate opportunities to reflect on all that God has done and to count our blessings. We started out as a young family with two babies, moving to a foreign country alone, by faith, without a full service mission board to guide us, or a safe mission base of our own to receive us. We had to learn the language, culture and figure out all of the hurdles of paperwork to live here legally all by ourselves. Not the easiest way to begin for sure, but it was the way that the Lord was guiding us. He was all we needed, and has been so faithful to supply all of our needs through all of these years. He has also made it clear to us time and time again that this mission is His, and He is the one bringing it to fruition. It is our job to remain faithful in the work He has called us to.
Thank you for your prayers for me. I am almost completely healed from my fall! It was certainly a bump in the road, but God has been so gracious in healing me quickly! I have full use of my arm and only have to take care of my blood clots with the compression sock and blood thinners until December. I am able to help some in the work now, as long as I’m super careful not to hurt myself while on this medication. Should something happen, there is no possibility of intervention to stop bleeding internally or otherwise.
We sent out an S.O.S. to some very dear friends from Georgia to come and help us finish the drywall mudding and possibly even the finish molding in the house, and they said yes!!! We are so excited for their help! They are coming next month for a whole week. Praise God!
After much work, the ceilings are finally finished! It is our hope that we can move into the house by the end of this year. It is with great trepidation that I even write that down. If building were the only thing that Vann spent his time on, we’d be well finished by now, but life here requires more than that. He has spent some time this week grieving with a friend over the sudden loss of his father, diagnosing the problem with our internet connection, and right now is helping a neighboring mission with two broken washing machines after spending the morning in a meeting about camp ministry ideas for the future. He is looking forward to the completion of this building project so as to be able to dedicate all of his time to serving others; which gives him great joy. In other news, Vann passed two kidney stones in one week! Poor man. That has got to be a record somewhere. It certainly is for him!
Thank you to all of you who have so faithfully prayed for us for all of these years! You have held our arms up like Aaron and Hur did for Moses. We couldn’t do this without you. What a blessing each of you are to us that support us in prayer, financially, and with an encouraging word. Please pray for our friends who are grieving the loss of their father, and for Vann’s shoulder which is still bothering him significantly. May the Lord bless you and yours abundantly!
“If you want Jesus to teach you to walk by faith, be prepared for him to ask you to step out of the boat.” - Jon Bloom